Press room

During his presentation, entitled Decline of Schools and Conflicts of Principles, organised by the Jaume Bofill Foundation and the UOC, the sociologist stressed the idea that schools cannot be held exclusively responsible for overcoming inequalities and transmitting culture to create good citizens. Dubet believes that it is more reasonable for education to participate alongside other agents, such as the communication media. He added that “society has to learn not to expect everything from schools”.

The heir to sociologist Alain Touraine highlighted that large revolutionary and radical changes were not required, rather there was a need for democratic forums to discuss changes in the way we work, leading to balanced, inclusive schools.

Dubet, in terms of the field of educational sociology, added that schools had become victims of the critical spirit that they themselves had created. “Schools no longer have a monopoly on culture, which has been taken over by the media,” he said. The fact is, according to Dubet, the young can find much more information on the television or internet than in their classes. Thus, and due to the fact that education and schooling have become goods, he believes we now face new challenges: to fight against truancy and to persuade students to get involved in education.

The paradox of French schools

Dubet addressed the question of why we needed to talk about decline at a time when there was so much potential for schools, when there are more teachers and students than ever, and in a society where education is vital for access to employment. The sociologist believes that the concept of schooling as we understand it has failed due to the disenchantment created by modernity, due to the loss of the monopoly on culture, and, furthermore, due to the fact that it is difficult to believe in a one-nation school when in reality we live in a multicultural society that is highly diverse.